Adopting dog

[Queenoftheword]

We are thinking of getting a second rescue (rather than pay £££££ for a puppy). Our current dog came to us from a change of owner circumstance and is really great. We would like to get a second for company / feel more confident / there’s something about having one that makes me want another and would like to give a dog in need of a home one.

I know rescues are totally overwhelmed with applicants right now. Happy to wait and not be that person who thinks it will happen ASAP. I’m curious to know if anyone knows if prices have gone up loads for rescues too. We’ve “seen” a dog from a rescue and have passed a home check but the donation asked for is basically the same as a puppy pre-covid.

Not the rescue I foster for. Our adoption fee is £100 just as before

Thanks @CMOTDibbler - does that mean you generally accept that sometimes it comes at a loss? I’ve basically been told that the dog has had xyz done and they’ve got to account for the vet’s time. This wasn’t the case when I adopted my last one but that was through a smaller rescue and done home-home. I don’t have an issue contributing to the cost of some of that but I kind of feel a bit put out by it and I’m not sure why.

For some of the dogs, they will have had thousands spent on them - theres one just come in who will probably need at least £3k of surgery and months in foster, plus all the other costs of them being there. But some come in and go out with no vets fees at all. We do document it on the vet report form, but its for information really - you could never expect one person to pay
Actually, when I've had dogs who have had treatment, I don't get to see the bills so have no idea of what it cost to record it!

Thank you, that’s really helpful @CMOTDibbler I think that we will probably walk away from this one then which I feel terrible for doing. It just feels a bit unethical / out of line with general practice.

We paid £150 to greyhound trust for ours. She was neutered, chipped and vaxxed. We also were given a lead, muzzle and collar

They tend to vary between about about £100 and £500... but I haven’t noticed any going up tbh. The dogs aren’t usually individually priced though, it’s usually a flat rate or I have seen some charge more for puppies and less for seniors right enough, but again x amount for a puppy, y for an adult, z for an oldie type thing.

Thanks both. The fee was quite a bit more than £500 and it was made quite clear that they expected more because they had had to spay and give some other treatment but tbh I thought most of them did that anyway. I’ve had a look on a couple of others websites like the dogs trust and they charge a fixed £185 and another one local to me which charge £200. I feel bad because this dog needs a home but I feel like what they are asking for is too much, especially with limited knowledge of the dog’s history and not knowing what further costs I might need to incur.

My adoption fee was £250.

I adopted 3 years ago from a small private rescue and the fee was £275. I expect the high fees are also a deterrent for the people who are not really committed.

We've adopted 2 puppies separately from the same rescue in lockdown. £130 each. They paid for a castration for our boy. We will pay for our girl's spay as she was only 4m, but she had a skin condition which they paid the vet and treatment. They are also happy to pay if she needs further treatment for this, but thankfully she is fully recovered.

I'd offer what you are willing to pay, but sadly it seems you won't be successful. Such a shame.

I’ve gone back and offered what we are willing to pay. When they first mentioned the donation fee I said it was high and they said that they had spent a lot on her. They said they would go back and check what had been spent and let me know but didn’t seem to because the next time I spoke to them they said this is what it will be without any further explanation. I asked for a breakdown of costs (which I was told would take a while as they didn’t have them) and having now posted on here have messaged back with what we are prepared to pay. It may mean we don’t get her and while I appreciate that they are a charity, I am not sure it is fair to expect someone to pay over £700 for a rescue that is from this country and will likely need a lot of ongoing work. I do understand the point of weeding out timewasters etc.

It’s not the amount that would bother me tbh... it’s that it seems to be to recoup costs.

Now, I understand in theory why that makes sense, but, it’s not usual to have a different price for different dogs and it’d make me slightly unsure about how well run the rescue is tbh.

Is this an established rescue you're familiar with?

@crispinglovershighkick they’re a well known rescue.

Only very occasionally does a rescue have a dog that comes with full vet work done, in which case the adoption fee may cover costs. Most of the time the fee will come nowhere near the amount spent on a dog even if it's the basics - vaccinations, neutering and worming.
That's why rescues fundraise. Changing the adoption fee to cover costs sounds really odd to me.

That's really odd as rescues usually fundraise to cover the costs for dogs that need extra vet treatment not expect the adopter to pay this. They usually don't want to put adopters off either as it could well cost the adopter more going forward as that condition(& related) will be preexisting and uninsurable.

Most rescues adoption fees ive paid at time would've barelyed cover a neuter/dental but then some dogs may just need a vet check and not be at rescue long. Puppies are often bit more to adopt & may have spay/neutering cost to pay later yourself but that's no different if from a breeder. Some people do choose to donate more than required as the adoption fee is really to help fund the care of the other dogs.

I volunteer for a rescue (not in the UK) and we charge £420. These costs are purely for TRACES, pet transport and vaccinations. All our animals have lived in foster prior to adoption and any costs incurred are paid for by the fosters. We do not have kennels and work only with private foster networks to help rehome.